11.1 Megapixel Canon

Canon Australia has announced the launch of the the world's highest resolution digital camera - the EOS-1Ds. Featuring the world's first full frame 35mm CMOS sensor with 11.1 million effective pixels, the EOS-1Ds is truly comparable with 35mm film cameras and is hence suitable for a range of professional uses including studio, commercial, photo journalism and fashion photography.

Canon's Scott Jackson was understandably chuffed at the release. "For years, photographers have talked about the 'Holy Grail' of digital SLR cameras: high resolution and a full 35mm format sensor," said Jackson. "The EOS-1Ds brings digital camera output to an entirely new level."

Canon's ground breaking CMOS technologies have allowed massive advances in resolution and functional features in the EOS-1Ds. The full frame CMOS sensor, for example, is the same size and aspect ratio as 35mm film, but now allows ultra-high resolution in the SLR format - delivering almost twice the resolution offered in today's professional digital SLR market. The sensor also enables unprecedented digital use of wide-angle lenses without any focal length magnification. Another benefit is the sensor's high signal to noise ratio that minimises image noise.

The EOS-1Ds delivers high quality images, superior colour reproduction and an extensive tonal range to produce pictures of equal or higher quality than the 35mm slide film traditionally favoured by professionals. Even at the highest quality setting, the EOS-1Ds can capture images at around three frames per second for a ten-frame burst.

The camera also features a CF card type I/II slot enabling the use of CF cards and IBM Microdrives and has a FireWire (IEEE1394) connection, enabling 50 Mbps throughput. There's also a new Data Verification Kit DVK-E1 which consists of a dedicated IC card and card reader with special software for Windows 2000/XP. This allows the EOS-1Ds' image files to be checked to confirm that they have remained absolutely unaltered after circulation to verify authenticity. The ability to prove an image is unaltered is extremely important when digital files are used as evidence in court, for example.

The new CMOS sensor employed in the camera consumes less power than previous CCDs, enabling the NP-E3 battery pack to capture up to 600 exposures on one charge.Most importantly, the EOS-1Ds is compatible with an extensive range of lenses and flashes, and comes with a pedigree which suggests it has Canon's renowned toughness and durability.

The Canon EOS-1Ds is available from Canon Professional Photographic Dealers nationally for AUS $13,459.

Mike grew up thinking he would become a mathematician, accidentally started motorcycle racing, got a job writing road tests for a motorcycle magazine while at university, and became a writer. As a travelling photojournalist during his early career, his work was published in a dozen languages across 20+ countries. He went on to edit or manage over 50 print publications, with target audiences ranging from pensioners to plumbers, many different sports, many car and motorcycle magazines, with many more in the fields of communication - narrow subject magazines on topics such as advertising, marketing, visual communications, design, presentation and direct marketing. Then came the internet and Mike managed internet projects for Australia's largest multimedia company, Telstra.com.au (Australia's largest Telco), Seek.com.au (Australia's largest employment site), top100.com.au, hitwise.com, and a dozen other internet start-ups before founding Gizmag in 2002. Now he writes and thinks.